The remainder of the summer holiday passed quickly, and before they knew it, Sadie and Sirius were seated across from James and Peter in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Remus was taking his shift patrolling the corridors with Lily but would be joining them shortly. They had all gotten together at the Potter's house a couple of weeks before, so there wasn't much to catch up on, and they had lapsed into a comfortable silence several minutes ago. Peter was digging through a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans while James, who had been named the new Gryffindor Quidditch captain, focused intently on a stack of parchment containing different plays he'd drawn up over the summer. After the frankly humiliating second half of the last Quidditch year, he was determined to redeem Gryffindor's name. Sadie yawned and let her head fall onto Sirius's shoulder, and he squeezed her hand in response.
"Late night?" He smirked. He knew all too well how much of a wreck she was when it came to packing. There were very few things in the world that stressed her out more, and she tended to spend hours agonizing over whatever little things she might have forgotten. No amount of reassuring from her parents that they would simply send anything she needed by owl had ever seemed to assuage her anxiety.
"Quiet, you," she mumbled, elbowing him halfheartedly in the ribs.
He laughed softly and kissed the top of her head. "I thought you wanted to go hang out with the girls once Evans finished with patrols. They should be done any minute, which really isn't long enough for a nap."
Sadie sighed and reluctantly sat back up. "I suppose you're right. Maybe I should just go now. A little walk might help me stay awake."
Sirius gave her hand one last squeeze before releasing it as she stood up. "Have fun! See you at the feast." He then made a show of yawning and stretching out across the seat, apparently intent on taking his own nap. Sadie rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him but couldn't help but smile fondly as she slipped out of the compartment. It didn't take long for her find the other girls in her dorm, and they quickly ushered her inside upon seeing her.
"Ohhhh Sadie!" Marlene's eyes glinted in a way that told Sadie she had gossip that she was dying to share. "I have so much to ask you about! But first, Alice was just telling us about some things she overheard a few weeks ago, and she felt it might be better to share before Lily gets back."
They all looked at Alice expectantly, and she cleared her throat and spoke in hushed tones. "Frank and I met in Diagon Alley for lunch a few weeks ago, and we saw a couple of Slytherins who had just graduated. They were looking really shifty, so Frank and I decided to follow them and see if we could figure out what they were up to. They went into this really dingey looking pub in Knockturn Alley. Frank is of age now, so he quickly changed up some of our features so that they wouldn't recognize us. We managed to sit close enough to them to hear at least most of what they were saying. They were talking about how Rowle had failed at some major task or something and how he and his family had been punished really badly for it. They sounded really nervous, but then one of them mentioned something about Snape taking over the task or something like that. Then they started kind of laughing and saying that he was going to have to figure out a more subtle way to do it this time if he didn't want to get caught. That was all we heard before a big group came in and drowned out their conversation. I figured the subject of Snape might still be sensitive for Lily which is why I wanted to talk about it before she got here." The other girls nodded. the fallout between Lily and Snape at the end of last year had been a nasty one. "I wonder what he's up to though. It sounds dangerous, whatever it is."
Sadie remained quiet as the others began to quietly discuss different theories. She hadn't shared with them the things that she had overheard last year, but she was putting the pieces together in her own head. She would have to discuss this new revelation with her boys and see what they could do about keeping an eye on Snape this year.
The girls fell silent as the door slid open and Lily entered the compartment, looking weary. She collapsed into the seat next to Sadie and rubbed her face tiredly. "If I have to confiscate one more dungbomb, I swear...Thank goodness that patrol is over."
Marlene was looking as though she might burst. "We've been waiting for you to get back! Sadie! I heard that Sirius ran away and got disowned over the summer! Is it true?!"
The other girls gasped and looked at Sadie, who sighed, having expected something like this. "Yes, that is true." She didn't feel comfortable going into too much detail about what had happened. She didn't think Sirius would want that broadcasted all over the school.
"Do you know what happened?!"
"Bits and pieces," Sadie answered vaguely. "He's living with us now though, so he's well taken care of," She laughed. "My parents dote on him like a second son."
"Have you guys gotten over your disagreement then?" Mary asked. "It was so sad to see you fighting last year; you've always been so close."
Sadie bit back a grin. "Yeah, we've gotten it all sorted out. I reckon we couldn't have lasted being upset with each other while living together the whole summer."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Alice exclaimed. "You were both so mopey for weeks last year. It was rather pathetic to watch." The other girls laughed as Sadie stuck her tongue out childishly at that. "Are you finally going to tell us what your fight was about?"
"Oh, that," Sadie yawned. "We kissed."
It was clear that, whatever the girls had been expecting to hear, it wasn't that. They gaped at her for several moments before Lily regained her ability to speak.
"And...that caused a fight?"
"Poor Sirius..." Mary murmured, shaking her head. "I mean, I get it that you don't have feelings for him and everything, but...to stop talking to him completely just because he likes you? You may as well have torn his heart out and stomped all over it."
"Hey, now!" Sadie protested, feeling a little defensive. "That isn't exactly what happened!"
Alice was staring at her sadly. "Well, I'm glad that you've at least patched things up a little bit. Do you think he's over you?"
"Well, I certainly hope not," Sadie snorted, but nobody was listening.
"Wow, Sadie, I'm not gonna lie," Lily sighed. "I really thought you were starting to like him last year."
Marlene was looking almost offended. "I can't believe you would turn that down! He's easily the hottest guy in our year; couldn't you at least have used him for a good shag or two?"
Lily gave her a scandalized look. "Marlene! That would have been so much worse! Besides, even if she doesn't have feelings for him, Sadie still cares deeply about Sirius! She would never use him or deliberately hurt him like that!"
"Do you think your friendship will ever be the same?" Mary asked sadly. Sadie wasn't sure whether to be amused or frustrated at their reactions.
"Well, probably not, but only because-"
She was cut off as the compartment door slid open and Sirius himself darted inside. The girls fell silent as he shut the door quickly but quietly and dropped into a crouching position. His eyes met Sadie's, and she rolled her eyes exasperatedly and whipped out her wand to cast a Disillusionment Charm on him. His body slowly became transparent, and the girls glanced around at each other as footsteps came thundering down the corridor.
"Where did he go?!"
The face of a Slytherin 5th year appeared in the window, and the girls pretended to be deep in conversation. He sneered and backed off. Slowly, the sounds of the students faded away. Sadie waited a minute to make sure they weren't coming back before lifting the charm. Sirius grinned up at her roguishly.
"Cheers, Love!" He stood, brushed off his pants, and squeezed into the seat next to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "What have you ladies been talking about?"
"You, actually," Sadie answered casually. The other girls were watching them uncertainly. "And how I apparently, erm, how did Mary put it? Tore your heart out and stomped all over it at the end of last year?"
He let out a barking laugh. "Well, she's not completely wrong. Though it was more my fault than anything else."
"Damn straight," she muttered, and he shrugged, grinning good-naturedly. "Anyway, Alice is wondering if you're over me, Lily is sad because she thought that I liked you, and Marlene wants to know why I didn't at least use you for a quick shag."
"All valid," he nodded sagely. "To answer, I can promise that I am most definitely not even close to over you, I've gotten the distinct impression this summer that Lily was correct, and as far as shags go, well," He winked and gave her a wicked smirk. "Feel free to use me whenever and as often as you like."
Sadie rolled her eyes even as she felt her cheeks heat up. "Horndog," she muttered, unable to keep an affectionate smile off of her face, and he roared with laughter at the pun.
"I feel like we missed something..." Mary piped up, and the other girls nodded in agreement.
"Well, I was going to tell you everything, but I was finding it a bit difficult to get a word in." Sadie examined her fingernails casually. Sirius chuckled and kissed her softly before standing up.
"Well, I'll let you get back to it. Thanks for the help. Better go find out how James fared." He took one last amused look at the girls' faces before disappearing into the corridor once more. As soon as the door shut, they rounded on Sadie, demanding answers, and she laughed, happily launching into an account of how she and Sirius had gotten together.
Okay, so first off, I am soooo sorry that this update is so ridiculously late! The last few weeks have been absolute hell. Seriously. I'm hoping that things are settling down a bit now. Fingers crossed at least. Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who has stuck around! Y'all are the best!
WindSongEnchantment: Hahahaha, I mean, you're absolutely correct, I was definitely crying!
GingerGryffindor: I am seriously passionate about Sirius and Regulus's relationship, and I'm really enjoying exploring the dynamics of it in this story! And never fear, there is plenty of Sirius badassery to come very soon!